Dark Days
by Ro Nordmann
Summary: These are the dark days. One more syringe. One more blood test. It wasn't enough. We were the only hope left for Panem. Only now what they want from us, may simply destroy what's left of our humanity.
1. Chapter 1

Blood in the streets says the song... Only now it filled with bodies. Rotting bodies of the dead and forgotten. Who is responsible for this tragedy? The end of the world as we know it.

No answers are given or even possible. Chaos rules what it's left of humanity. We are the survivors of countless experimental procedures, that tried to comprehend what had befallen us.

Twenty-four pairs, one man, one woman was chosen from different districts of our dear Panem, in the hope that a cure could be found from our particular gene pool.

You see, not everyone got infected. It appeared some of us had an innate immunity to the sickness. A disease so foul, never seen, wiped out towns in a matter of days. The biggest concern had been the symptoms. They weren't the same on everyone, there were no patterns to the infection. The source, at first thought to have been the water supply, then it inferred it came from the meat from bovine animals.

In the end it was fruitless to find the origin of the plague, as entire families succumbed and perished. Only one doctor with great connections in the government had the audacity to begin a secret study known as the "Hunger Games", selecting people from different backgrounds and districts, that hadn't been infected. Dr. Aurelius believed these uninfected citizens were the possible piece of the puzzle, which in turn would help him find a cure for the rest of the dying population. If he was fast enough.

24 participants.

Only we were not willingly participating on the study. I was taken.

:::

"F12 step forward."

The disembodied voice woke me from my unrestful slumber. It was nothing new. It came always at the most inopportune times. It demanded compliance or else.

"F12 you are scheduled to meet with M12 at 0800 hours. You will bathe and dress according to regulations. Thank you."

I could feel the light of the scan go through, as it took the necessary information, It happened at least three times a day. What information it garnered it was all a mystery to me. As for the hour, it was staring right at my face, my only companion until released to my next prison.

Three more hours to go. Until I would meet Peeta. Peeta Mellark or M12, is another unfortunate soul caught in this experimental project. He had a life all set for him, with a future wife and a career. He was his parents' pride and joy, all-star student with the most the infectious smile and the brightest blue eyes.

It wasn't fair he was stuck here... with me. Yet, it wasn't better out there anymore. His life, all those plans and dreams were gone along with his parents and his perfect girlfriend.

Thinking about what his life would've been, brings back what mine would've been. I was the oldest, responsible for my little sister, Primrose, while my mother slaved herself as healer and nurse to all her neighbors. My father was one of the first to die from the infection, as she had carried it home it seemed. The guilt and the stress of seeing everything around us fall apart my mother died about a week later. It was only Prim and I, with her horrible cat Buttercup. Strangely, the damn cat disappeared leaving my sister devastated. I see it now as an omen, the beginning of the end. All I had left was my Prim, and I tried to protect her as best I could. She died in my arms, as blood and other fluids oozed out of every orifice from her body. By then I didn't care if I died. All I wanted was to see my sister grow up and become the young woman I knew she could be. A doctor, healing the sick and helping the needy, a mother of children... Prim loved babies. So unlike me. I had no aspirations for marriage, much less for children in my future.

It was like I was being punished for my nonchalant attitude, that everything I held dear was taken from me. Not even my best friend and confidant Madge survived, as my only male friend had to endure seeing her wither away in front of his eyes helpless. Gale cursed everything and everyone, feeling just like me, abandoned and forsaken by some deity who had taken the time to declare judgement on our miserable lives. For a while it was Gale and I, it appeared we were immune and would be able to survive together. He was prepared to live the rest of his days with me. But even then I was incapable of committing myself to another. Deep down I feared it was just too good to last.

In the end, I was right.

:::

0800 hrs.

It was time. I took a deep breath, and tried to take out the creases from my barely there clothes. My nipples were hard as pebbles and visible through my tank top. I didn't want to think it had anything to do with what I was about to engage in.

It was shameful.

It cemented in my soul, the fact I had no more dignity. It had been stripped away the very moment I was taken. All for the good of the human race, for country, for the glory and restoration of our great country Panem. As I looked into my reflection, I could see what defeat and total despair had imprinted on my skin. I was no longer Katniss Everdeen, the daughter of Hunter and Emily Everdeen, and sister of Primrose Everdeen. What was left of that girl was a mirage, and what was left was a husk that still breathed and had a heartbeat. It was never enough. There was always some new test, some new theory that needed to be tested out... on us.

The only hope left.

It was useless to try to end it. They would force feed us, make us live for the sole purpose of producing what they were searching, a chimera.

A loud beep alerted me to the opening latch. It was time to do my duties, like a true daughter of Panem, who I owed my life to. Their words.

My choices... well I had no more of those. I was F12, on her way to service M12.

I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath to concentrate on the remaining steps until another door would open and I would feel his eyes on me, lingering on my exposed skin. I couldn't blame him, after all we were all each other had. The only human contact, as our tormentors stayed safe behind the screens and cameras, incessantly watching.

"Kat-"

I made eye contact with his blue orbs, and saw a blush rise on his cheeks. I shook my head at him. No names.

We had no names here.

We were no one, yet we exist still... barely.

His naked torso was still wet, droplets running down...down. My eyes follow them into his shorts. My breathing picked up suddenly, knowing there's no running away from this room, from this moment.

"Come here... I won't hurt you... again."

I could see the shame reflected on his face. It wasn't his fault. It was this place and what its done to us, side effects of everything.

"I-I know. Let's just get it over with, so I can go back to my room".

His gaze looked even more wounded at my words, but I was too nervous to care. I was too conscious of the fact we were watched every single second.

His touch was ice-cold, and I took a step back hitting the closed-door. He wasn't deterred from his progress and advanced towards me. I felt caged in, feeling light-headed. I was going to panic and pass out.

"Shh... calm down, Katniss. I won't hurt. I simply want to hold you in my arms. Please?"

Peeta whispered so low, I could barely understand his words. I tried to heed his words, and started to relax. He was only going to hug me to his chest. It wasn't like that time when he was out of his mind. I looked into his eyes and saw his eyes were clear. No storm brewing on the surface.

I let myself go, and then I felt the comfort of his arms around me. I nuzzled my face on his chest searching the warmth only he could offer. His lips were grazing my ear, and I knew he wanted to say something.

"We need to do this. I don't think I can stand the alternative. Dr. Aurelius said the serum he injected me with was the wrong dosage. So, it's only me now. They think our bodies on their own might be better, without any enhancements. I'm sorry for all of this. I know you would prefer to be with your lover, but this is all. If I could I would protect you, and now I know this is what I have to do to make sure you won't be harmed."

He tried kissing my lips, but I turned away. No, Gale wasn't my lover and I didn't love him in that way. I simply couldn't allow myself to feel... feel anything for Peeta. We were paired together, as the best possible match to create the elusive cure. That was the goal.

Keep your eyes on the target, Katniss.

My hands found his flaccid penis.

"Just do as you're told, M12. We have a duty to our country. So get to it."

Inside me I cringed at my cold tone, but it was the only way to remain indifferent against this man.

"As you wish, F12".

It was like the light had been taken from the room, as he took my clothes off and dropped his pants on the floor.

"Where do you want it? Here standing up? Or lying down? Either way is fine by me."

Enter Robot Peeta. It was what I wanted. Yet I felt cheated and bereft.

"Here. Standing."

His body was so massive in comparison to mine, that he covered me from all angles. In the back of my mind, I suspected he wanted to protect me from all the prying eyes. His hands suddenly took hold of my hips and propelled my legs to take hold of his waist. I was pretty sure I heard myself gasp at his forcefulness and determination.

"Are you ready for me?"

A nudge and a thrust, and he was completely inside me. A silent scream was all he got out of me. The same mantra inside my head, this is your duty to your country. Just breathe. I closed my eyes willing for the minutes to go by, for our time to be over. His exhales hit my neck, and I feel that he trying to hold back. No, please let go. Please.

My back hit the wall, as the exertion of holding it up took its toll on Peeta. Or so I thought. His hand found its way between us and his fingers finds my clitoris. I tried to break from his hold over me, but his movements are relentless. I am powerless and moans of pleasure escaped from my opened mouth.

"Let go, Katniss... Just let go".

The shame enveloped me, and I wanted to hit and scream at him. Tears poured down my cheeks, as he made me orgasm against the wall. Between a wail and a scream, all the pent-up energy was freed. With my legs back on the floor, I need the wall to support me from falling right at his feet.

He moved a few steps back, panting and sweating, with his fists coiled. Slowly his blue eyes moved from staring at the floor and locked with mine. They show the same despair I see in mine, yet there's more hidden inside his soul. Longing.

I averted my gaze.

The loud beeping noise declared time was up. The latch opened next. With an unknown agility I picked up my clothes and walked away.

Away from M12.


	2. Chapter 2

I didn't know how long it had been. I should be able to know, as things here were so rigorously timed and scheduled to perfection. Yet I simply couldn't say how many days it had been since... I shook my head and tried to clear the haziness inside my head. I was pretty sure it was all part of their plan. To keep me compliant and calm. It hadn't been that way from the beginning. I fought through every prick, swab and scan, but in the end it was useless to rebel. I was a mere girl, whose life was in the hands of the Capitol.

What was the Capitol? Or better yet what did remain of the government that failed its job of protecting its people? Greedy and cruel scientists and men with money ready to spend every cent to find a cure and a way to repopulate with life our dwindling world.

Am I in the Capitol? I don't know or would care anyway. It was simply a my fate to survive the infection, to then become a pawn in some secretive project to save what was left of the life as we had known it.

It didn't matter to me, if it wouldn't bring Prim back, or my father and mother. They ones left, hiding and afraid, could die for all I cared. The irony wasn't lost on me, as here I exist for these miserable creatures. I am the last shred of hope, the fucking Mockingjay, with a viable uterus to give birth to the freaking star child.

Let's just laugh at that for a second.

My hands find themselves touching my flat abdomen. Was it already there, multiplying and growing like an alien parasite not welcomed? If only I could tear it out. I knew it would be soon, the syringe and blood to check if it finally had happened. There was no reason for it not be implanted and grow to become the new utopia for Panem, the crowning jewel for the Capitol, and most of all, the prized possession of our still living President Coriolanus Snow.

The robotic voice lets me know what I was dreading. Three masked in suits come into the cell, these faceless men were the only contact I had.

"Stand up, F12. It is time for your examination. Dr. Aurelius wants to extract fresh samples."

They don't flinch as I try to move from them, something I'm sure they were sick off. I was sick of everything. A slight pinch alerted me to the tranquilizer already running through my veins.

"There, there, my sweet Katniss. You should just cooperate. There's no point resisting, you'll be revered and remember for the rest of time. Don't you want to be part of Panem's history?"

Aurelius' speech was abruptly interrupted by screams coming from another cell. I stopped my fidgeting and felt pity for the other girl. It reminded me I wasn't alone, that others were here, being subjected to who knows what inside these cells... all for the glory of Panem.

I wasn't feeling particularly patriotic at the moment.

"Transport her to Lab D12. Draw at least 4 vials of her blood. Run the usual tests and the pregnancy panel as well. We need to find out why she isn't pregnant yet. There's no physical reason from both participants. I'll be by to check the findings by 0400 hrs. That will be all. And before I forget, inject the latest serum into M12."

With those last words, Dr. Aurelius left my cell. His minions dragged me all the way to my other torture chamber. The needle entered without resistance, draining the crimson liquid that they want so much. For some damned reason my cells were so strong I was immune to most diseases, but most of all to the infection that took my Prim away from me.

One tube.

Two tubes.

I turned my head away, feeling light-headed.

"Take deep breaths. That doesn't usually happen with you, F12. Maybe it is a good sign. We'll know soon enough. I need you to urinate in this receptacle. I need to check you are feeding your body correctly. We don't want you to exert yourself for the next five days. I think I can ask for better food sent to your room. Won't that be nice?"

I wanted to hate her. But Aurelius' assistant had consistently tried to act... humane with me. I didn't even know her name. I simply nodded back.

Just as I was ready to be transported back to my "room", my tormentor came back with blood stains on his lab coat. I slumped on myself and my knees caved, making my body tumble and fall. I started to whimper and moan. It will never be over... after I finally die or they kill me.

Traitor body, how I hate you.

"TAKE HER BACK TO HER ROOM NOW! Cressida it is a fucking tragedy. M2 just killed two guards and almost killed F2. She's been sedated and he's been strapped to the bed-"

M2.

M2 killed.

M2 almost killed F2.

I couldn't sleep, as it kept repeating in my mind. A way out. M2 had shown me the only way out.

Now how to convince Peeta.


	3. Chapter 3

It was the good old doctor's mistake to let me hear those words. It was the only thing going round and round inside my head. Next, came the ways it could be done. M2 probably tried to strangle F2. It was the easiest way, using his own hands to take her all the air inside her lungs, until there was nothing left and she expired.

Did she asked for it? Did she beg him to end it?

Tears kept flowing down my face. I wanted it all to end. This was no life.

A loud beeping noise alerted me to the incoming presence of someone coming to take me somewhere I didn't want to go. The disembodied robotic voice followed.

"F12, stand by the circle and spread your legs, hands behind your head."

Surprisingly it was Dr. Aurelius himself visiting one of his prized guinea pigs.

"F12, it is finally good news! I'm so sure this time it will work. I need to check you and take some more blood samples. But I know you'll be the answer I've been searching for. I think you should tell M12 the greatest news. You both are heroes that will raise Panem to its earlier glory. You will be Mother and Father to the future generations.

Damn stress and survival mode had stopped your body from doing what it's supposed to. So, let's get started on the examination, just standard stuff, and then you'll be taken to M12's cell. On the bright side, you'll be getting better food that's for sure, Sweetheart."

Sweetheart? Was he trying to act all paternally and kind? Forget trying to kill myself. I had a new aim.

Wait... Mother and Father of Panem? Did this mean that it at last had happened?

My stomach churned and vile came up violently.

He approached me, but I started screaming.

"STAY BACK! Don't come any closer! It won't live, I won't let it. You won't get this... over my dead body. PEETA! PEETA! Oh, God! PEETA! Please, make it stop. Make it stop. No more..."

Hands held me in place. A slight pinch, and then it was all darkness.

:::

Strong arms.

Lips fluttering on my forehead.

A particular scent.

I nuzzled my nose on the chest. I knew it was him. It was M12. Why I was here was a total mystery to me. We only were together on scheduled times... for one purpose. And according to Dr. Aurelius it was achieved.

"Shh... I'm here. I won't let them hurt you, Katniss. They can't take you away from me again. I'll protect you-"

I opened my eyes and looked at his blue eyes. He looked tired, with dark circles defining his optical orbs. M12 had a gash stitched on the right side of this forehead. My fingers grazed it slowly. They had injected the serum again. Once again, I felt that hate simmer in my soul. They had taken everything from us, and still expected to take more.

"I want it all to end, P-Peeta. And I was so sure of what I wanted you... to do. Simple. One snap of the neck and it would be over-"

His hand stopped me from continuing. His eyes darkened with unrestrained rage, and for a moment I feared he had serum running through his veins.

"Never. That will never happen. Not by these hands, not by me. Do you understand me, Katniss? They will not win. We'll find a way to escape, return to our district. There has to be a way..."

His words warned me of the fact he didn't know.

I wasn't going to tell him.


	4. Chapter 4

"Do you know why they have left you here with me? I don't mind it, but it makes no sense with the routine established. At least it means I won't get injected, while you're here with... me."

The drowsiness had finally worn off. I sat in one corner, as M12 kept pacing from side to side.

"Stop. There's no use in your pacing. We need to get someone like Cressida to free us. Then we have to figure out how to get back to District 12. I wonder if it's still there... or was it burnt to ashes? Obliterate what once was. No trace of what our lives had been."

More tears.

I was sick of them, yet there was no stopping them. His touch startled me, reminding me I wasn't alone.

"I want Aurelius to die. I don't want to be the future. I want the control over my life..."

M12 finally decided to sit, it was too close for comfort. His hands were caressing anywhere they could reach, and all I wanted to do was bolt and free myself from his overwhelming warmth.

"Please..."

My voice was a mere murmur, and I feared he didn't hear my warning. Suddenly, I'm on his lap, with his arms wrapped around me. The panic surged inside involuntarily.

"We can find a way. Together. You and I will survive and find our home. Just try to keep acting like you are complying with everything. Maybe the serum will help in the end..."

I tried to push myself away, but his gentle touch stopped me.

"I do have no regrets being with you though, Katniss."

It was lie. He was saying it to appease me. The Peeta Mellark I knew, had a world full of opportunities, at his fingertips. And I wasn't part of it. It was enough, I had to make it known. I found the strength to pull myself from his hold. Now I was the one pacing.

"Peeta Mellark, merchant's son, most likely to succeed in his own business, had his life all planned out. His wife-to-be, another merchant's daughter, was the lovely Delly Cartwright, and the mother of the future Mellark children.

You have much to regret, M12."

M12. It was like an echo around the cell. A virtual slap to his face. His eyes turned from blue to a dark cobalt, an internal switch gone off. The panic only increased within me.

"You will never again refer to me as that. Do you understand? I may put up with your blank stares, but I won't tolerate your acts of indifference. You know me, Katniss. A side of me no one else ever got to see or experience. It fucking makes me yours. As you are mine. Never forget it."

Somehow I found myself pinned against the wall, with his hand gripping my windpipe. I locked eyes with his, the vacancy in his stare was frightening. Was he even conscious of his actions? My shivering body had nothing to do with the temperature in the cell. His stance reflected his aggression, it demanded my complete compliance. The Peeta that stood in front of me was the epitome of M12 under the serum's influence.

The beeping sound and the robotic disembodied voice alerted us, that if M12 didn't end his acts, the guards would enter. His hold's grip loosen and he stood back from my personal space. A mist in the air fell upon us, and instantly I felt my muscles relax and my eyelids drooped. M12 dropped to his knees until his whole body fell to the floor unconscious.

:::

The vial was full of my blood, a darken red color, almost black. What was the purpose of this test, only Dr. Aurelius was privy to. Strangely, M12 was in the lab room with me. The syringe took his blood as well. We hadn't spoken again after our spat, sticking to opposing sides of the cell.

"I'm going to recommend your caloric intake be increased. You need to gain weight, and stay healthy, now more than ever."

I glared at Cressida's lack of prudence. I didn't want him to know yet. Truthfully, I wanted this to end, and M12 to never find out. It was totally irrational, but it was an imperative need to keep it a secret.

The lab tech kept taking hair and skin samples from us. The pinch and prodding was bothersome, but there was nothing I could do to stop it. M12 had said I had to act passive and accept their treatment.

Cressida smile at me and tried to encourage me to smile back. I didn't bat an eye lash.

"It is standard procedure. Don't be alarmed. As for the change in your housing, I thought it would be a positive change, especially now.

It is a relief you finally conceived. Congratulations! How does it feel to be the Mother and Father of the new Panem?"

What happened next was totally unexpected. A blur of movements and grunts. Blood splatter started to decorate the walls and surfaces in the lab room. The samples got contaminated in the chaos. Beeping and alarms blared off, as M12 destroyed everything in sight. I was lucky enough to hide under the examination table. I felt powerless in the midst of this episode. There was nothing I could do to stop it.

It was the worst I had seen so far. Something Cressida had said triggered it. I prayed it would soon be over. The guards were bound to enter. Next, the needle would pierce his skin, and his eyes would turn glassy and his soul would return.

I had seen it before. The serum, that vile substance that had invaded his body had changed M12 apparently irreversibly. I truly feared it, and what it would mean for his future. Whatever this facility was, it wasn't only concerned with the procreation and future generations of our nation. Something else, more sinister was conspiring against us behind closed doors.

And in the veins of M12.


End file.
